Cheong "Will Not Tolerate North's Words and Actions That Lack Discernment" (Update)

Yoon Do-han, Senior Secretary for Public Communication, Blue House Briefing... Blue House Strongly Criticizes Kim Yo-jong's Statement with Harsh Tone

[Asia Economy reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Son Seon-hee] The Blue House warned that it "will no longer tolerate unreasonable speech and behavior" in response to North Korea's Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, who unleashed harsh criticism against President Moon Jae-in.

Yoon Do-han, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, strongly criticized on the 17th during a Chuncheon Press Briefing, saying, "The North's disparagement in a very rude tone, completely misunderstanding the intent of President Moon's remarks, is an unreasonable act."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Blue House responded closely, holding an emergency video meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) Standing Committee from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. that day. Secretary Yoon said, "We analyzed the content related to the North's statement toward the South and discussed our response measures. The National Security Office Director attended, along with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, National Defense, Unification, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the first and second deputy directors of the National Security Office."

The Blue House showed a tough stance, noting that Kim Yo-jong's recent actions are an obstacle to improving inter-Korean relations. Secretary Yoon explained, "President Moon mentioned the current situation in his June 15th speech commemorating the 20th anniversary of the June 15th Joint Declaration. He emphasized that the hard-won inter-Korean relations, which have overcome the risk of war, must not be reversed, and proposed a broad direction to resolve the challenges faced by both South and North through communication and cooperation."

Regarding the North's disclosure of the Blue House's proposal for a special envoy to North Korea, Secretary Yoon said, "Our side had privately proposed dispatching a special envoy to the North to overcome the current situation, but the North unilaterally disclosed it. This is an unprecedented and unreasonable act, and we strongly regret this deliberate distortion of the purpose of the special envoy proposal." He added, "We hope the North will observe basic courtesy going forward."

Meanwhile, a senior Blue House official said, "Given the current situation, ratifying the Panmunjom Declaration seems difficult."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.